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List of CBO publications that analyze the budgetary impact of the Budget Control Act of 2011 (P.L. 112-25)

In response to a request from the Honorable Paul Ryan, Chairman of the Committee on the Budget, U.S. House of Representatives, the Congressional Budget Office has prepared a list of its publications that analyze the budgetary impact of the Budget Control Act of 2011 (P.L. 112-25).

Letters Related to the Consideration of the Budget Control Act

On July 26, 2011, CBO estimated the effect on the deficit of the Budget Control Act as posted on the Web site of the Committee on Rules on July 25, 2011.

Also on July 27, 2011, CBO estimated the effect on the deficit of the Budget Control Act as proposed in the Senate on July 25, 2011 (as an amendment to S. 1323).

On August 1, 2011, CBO estimated the effect on the deficit of the Budget Control Act as posted on the Web site of the Committee on Rules that day. That version of the legislation was ultimately enacted.

Sequestration Reports and Related Publications

On August 12, 2011, CBO published its Sequestration Update Report for Fiscal Year 2012. That report detailed the caps on new discretionary budget authority established by the Budget Control Act, including applicable adjustments and the limits on security and nonsecurity budget authority for 2012 and 2013.

On September 13, 2011, CBO’s testimony entitled Confronting the Nation’s Fiscal Policy Challenges before the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction included a comprehensive discussion of the Budget Control Act and its estimated effect on the budget deficit and CBO’s baseline budget projections, including the potential impact of the enforcement procedures of the law (see pages 22 to 24).

On October 26, 2011, CBO’s testimony entitled Discretionary Spending before the same committee highlighted the Budget Control Act’s estimated effect on discretionary budget authority and total outlays, again including the potential impact of the enforcement procedures of the law (see pages 14 to 23 and 33 to 36).

Budget Projections

In August 2011, CBO published The Budget and Economic Outlook: An Update, which discussed the budgetary effects of the Budget Control Act (see Box 1-1 and Table 1-6) and presented baseline budget projections that incorporated those effects.

In January 2012, CBO published The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2012 to 2022, which updated the estimated effects of the Budget Control Act to reflect the fact that lawmakers did not enact legislation originating from the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction that would reduce projected deficits by at least $1.2 trillion over a 10-year period. (The enforcement procedures are highlighted on pages 12, 13, 18, 20, 103, and 104.)

Also in March 2012, CBO published An Analysis of the President’s 2013 Budget, which included CBO’s assessment of the President’s proposal to eliminate the automatic spending reductions that are scheduled to occur under the Budget Control Act.